The Musician's Gig Room Chat V1 - Songwriting and Sound Design for all!

[Skeeter]

Don't forget to write review on the album if you contributed, papa bless and happy holidays~

[AgentBoomstick]

[QUOTE=billeh!;52993655]
pls review
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2L1Zyo3c_w[/media][/QUOTE]

You are better at playing the guitar and singing at the same time than me. I can dig it. I think you should work on your confidence in projecting your voice, I think you are a good singer but don't have enough confidence behind your voice to really project it and use your pipes to the best of your ability. I understand if you were trying to be quiet or whatever. Cool and simple lyrics. Treat yourself to a better microphone!

[media]https://soundcloud.com/scrapstheplaguedoctor/thirsty-prod-bitter-wilson[/media]

Made this song today in a drunken rage. Recorded it on my new iPhone and for fuck's sake it sounds better than my shitty $60 microphone. OmTheory whipped up the cover art for me

[Speedhax]

[QUOTE=Ms. Gyroscope;52998044]Any advice on getting out of an 8 month art block?[/QUOTE]

Write songs you think are shit. Write songs where you don't take the process seriously at all.

[Hakita]

got a voucher from my dad for printing 10 full length vinyls of my next album

[t]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/197335824872898561/394539620442046485/002.JPG[/t]

quite possibly the coolest christmas present i've ever gotten

[mkultra2018]

[QUOTE=AgentBoomstick;52999057]
[media]https://soundcloud.com/scrapstheplaguedoctor/thirsty-prod-bitter-wilson[/media]
[/QUOTE]

Yeah dude, glad you like the cover. Of course, already know that I think this is sick.

[media]https://soundcloud.com/lewislancastermusic/skenchhop2-5[/media]

[media]https://soundcloud.com/lewislancastermusic/skench-quality-instrumental[/media]

AgentBoomsticks gave me some vocals, so I wipped them up to a beat I was working on.

[Clovis]

[QUOTE=OmTheory;53004299]Yeah dude, glad you like the cover. Of course, already know that I think this is sick.

[media]https://soundcloud.com/lewislancastermusic/skenchhop2-5[/media]

[media]https://soundcloud.com/lewislancastermusic/skench-quality-instrumental[/media]

AgentBoomsticks gave me some vocals, so I wipped them up to a beat I was working on.[/QUOTE]

Hah, that first one is really cool, actually. It's not ordinarily the sort of music I listen to, although it reminds me of cristobal tapia de veer in the best possible way. Feels really raw, dude.

I got an opportunity to play a real piano at Christmas, so wrote a song that is structurally pretty unusual, but I think it turned out alright. Bear in mind that I was pretty fuckin' drunk when recording this, but I am keen for any feedback, especially on the ending, as I am super happy with how it turned out, disregarding some of the whiskey-induced mistakes.

[media]https://soundcloud.com/mikehawkbiscuit/me-too123[/media]

[pebkac]

This might be a bit of a stupid question, but is there any easy to use software out there that would allow a complete idiot to sketch down a song idea relatively quickly? I've never played an instrument and I know next to nothing about music theory, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

Just as an example, you know how you sometimes get a song stuck in your head but you don't know what it's called? I wanna be able to write a short section of it down so I can ask someone else about it. Sometimes I even get inspired and come up with my own ideas that happen to sound good in my head, so I'd like to write them down, because otherwise I just forget them.

I don't really have any aspirations to become a musician or anything, I just want something simple to experiment with. I wanna be able to lay down the notes for a couple instruments and add a drum beat, then play it back to hear what it sounds like. I don't really care about all the advanced effects and stuff, for all I care the output quality can be like those early 90s midi soundtracks. Any suggestions?

[Clovis]

[QUOTE=pebkac;53006860]This might be a bit of a stupid question, but is there any easy to use software out there that would allow a complete idiot to sketch down a song idea relatively quickly? I've never played an instrument and I know next to nothing about music theory, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

Just as an example, you know how you sometimes get a song stuck in your head but you don't know what it's called? I wanna be able to write a short section of it down so I can ask someone else about it. Sometimes I even get inspired and come up with my own ideas that happen to sound good in my head, so I'd like to write them down, because otherwise I just forget them.

I don't really have any aspirations to become a musician or anything, I just want something simple to experiment with. I wanna be able to lay down the notes for a couple instruments and add a drum beat, then play it back to hear what it sounds like. I don't really care about all the advanced effects and stuff, for all I care the output quality can be like those early 90s midi soundtracks. Any suggestions?[/QUOTE]

Just like with language, one needs a consistent set of symbols to be able to do this. If I said I needed to play a Gm, Bbmaj7, Eb, C7 to get something I'd written saved, I have to have a basic understanding of what all that means. I personally think what you are asking for is a little impossible, I'm afraid.

[Ott]

[QUOTE=pebkac;53006860]This might be a bit of a stupid question, but is there any easy to use software out there that would allow a complete idiot to sketch down a song idea relatively quickly? I've never played an instrument and I know next to nothing about music theory, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

Just as an example, you know how you sometimes get a song stuck in your head but you don't know what it's called? I wanna be able to write a short section of it down so I can ask someone else about it. Sometimes I even get inspired and come up with my own ideas that happen to sound good in my head, so I'd like to write them down, because otherwise I just forget them.

I don't really have any aspirations to become a musician or anything, I just want something simple to experiment with. I wanna be able to lay down the notes for a couple instruments and add a drum beat, then play it back to hear what it sounds like. I don't really care about all the advanced effects and stuff, for all I care the output quality can be like those early 90s midi soundtracks. Any suggestions?[/QUOTE]

[url]http://www.beepbox.co/[/url] is a pretty good in-browser chiptune editor.

[pebkac]

[QUOTE=Ott;53007043][url]http://www.beepbox.co/[/url] is a pretty good in-browser chiptune editor.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, that's exactly the sort of stuff I'm looking for. I'd like to be able to use more real-sounding instruments and drum samples rather than just simple wave generators though. A more fleshed out UI wouldn't hurt either.

[AgentBoomstick]

[QUOTE=Dan The Man;53006529]Hah, that first one is really cool, actually. It's not ordinarily the sort of music I listen to, although it reminds me of cristobal tapia de veer in the best possible way. Feels really raw, dude.

I got an opportunity to play a real piano at Christmas, so wrote a song that is structurally pretty unusual, but I think it turned out alright. Bear in mind that I was pretty fuckin' drunk when recording this, but I am keen for any feedback, especially on the ending, as I am super happy with how it turned out, disregarding some of the whiskey-induced mistakes.

[media]https://soundcloud.com/mikehawkbiscuit/me-too123[/media][/QUOTE]

This is cool. Is it an original or a cover? I always wanted to be better at playing instruments/singing, I think you pull it off pretty well. Better than me, that's for sure.

This is officially the last song I'll have to record on an iPhone, I finally got a new microphone. I think it turned out okay, though. Would love for someone to peep it:

[media]https://soundcloud.com/scrapstheplaguedoctor/loveme[/media]

[mkultra2018]

[QUOTE=Ott;53007043][url]http://www.beepbox.co/[/url] is a pretty good in-browser chiptune editor.[/QUOTE]

That's a really nice tool, I used it a while ago to make a game OST.

[media]https://soundcloud.com/lewislancastermusic/tracker[/media]

[Clovis]

[QUOTE=AgentBoomstick;53007316]This is cool. Is it an original or a cover? I always wanted to be better at playing instruments/singing, I think you pull it off pretty well. Better than me, that's for sure.

This is officially the last song I'll have to record on an iPhone, I finally got a new microphone. I think it turned out okay, though. Would love for someone to peep it:

[media]https://soundcloud.com/scrapstheplaguedoctor/loveme[/media][/QUOTE]

It's an original. :) I don't really cover songs anymore, as it is more enjoyable for me to make new stuff. Thanks for your kind words. I'll listen to your one when it isn't 4am, haha. :)

[Speedhax]

[QUOTE=AgentBoomstick;53007316]This is cool. Is it an original or a cover? I always wanted to be better at playing instruments/singing, I think you pull it off pretty well. Better than me, that's for sure.

This is officially the last song I'll have to record on an iPhone, I finally got a new microphone. I think it turned out okay, though. Would love for someone to peep it:

[media]https://soundcloud.com/scrapstheplaguedoctor/loveme[/media][/QUOTE]

You recorded the vocals on an iphone? Sounds pretty good for that, I like the sound of lofi vocals for some reason. It adds grit to it.

For example I love XXXTENTACIONS Look At Me for the vocal recording.

[mkultra2018]

[QUOTE=AgentBoomstick;53007316]This is cool. Is it an original or a cover? I always wanted to be better at playing instruments/singing, I think you pull it off pretty well. Better than me, that's for sure.

This is officially the last song I'll have to record on an iPhone, I finally got a new microphone. I think it turned out okay, though. Would love for someone to peep it:

[media]https://soundcloud.com/scrapstheplaguedoctor/loveme[/media][/QUOTE]

Hahah, as you are aware. I think that the track is absolute fire. Even used the bars in one of my tracks haha. Production is good but the track sounds kind of flat. Needs just a little bit of space on the high end I feel.

[media]https://soundcloud.com/lewislancastermusic/mckennamissions-final[/media]

Took DMT and made a track. Did the bass on my modular.

[url]https://soundcloud.com/lewislancastermusic/the-outsiders-dimension/s-qRGzg[/url]

And some hendrix shit.

[Clovis]

[QUOTE=OmTheory;53015590]Hahah, as you are aware. I think that the track is absolute fire. Even used the bars in one of my tracks haha. Production is good but the track sounds kind of flat. Needs just a little bit of space on the high end I feel.

[media]https://soundcloud.com/lewislancastermusic/mckennamissions-final[/media]

Took DMT and made a track. Did the bass on my modular.

[media]https://soundcloud.com/lewislancastermusic/the-outsiders-dimension[/media]

And some hendrix shit.[/QUOTE]

I love the DMT one very much. I never listened to music on MDMA or 2C-E, and many other psychs, but I would have loved to! It's actually not normally something I would listen to, even though I like some things like that, but I liked this one and probably don't have much else to say for this genre. :P

Considering that this is the gig room, here was me playing 11 years ago when I was an ickle child:
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp5F2ALEhZk[/media]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKFnWf040vI[/media]

[redBadger]

[QUOTE=Dan The Man;53018009]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKFnWf040vI[/media][/QUOTE]

Two Minds is really well done, and well written. Have you ever considered re-recording it in a better quality? Hell you could easily put it into midi and pop a piano virtual instrument onto it.

[Lamarr]

[QUOTE=Dan The Man;53018009]
Considering that this is the gig room, here was me playing 11 years ago when I was an ickle child:

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKFnWf040vI[/media][/QUOTE]

As stated above, Two Minds is very well composed and some impressive playing you're doing.
Hope you're still playing after 11 years cause you obviously have talent.

Got a Vox AC30 Tone pedal from a friend for christmas.
Recorded a cover of Brian May's "Last horizon" using it for lead,rhythm and acoustic tone.
[media]https://soundcloud.com/lamarrmelon/joyo-ac-tone-last-horizon-cover[/media]

[AgentBoomstick]

[QUOTE=Speedhax;53013848]You recorded the vocals on an iphone? Sounds pretty good for that, I like the sound of lofi vocals for some reason. It adds grit to it.

For example I love XXXTENTACIONS Look At Me for the vocal recording.[/QUOTE]

Yo I really appreciate that. I think production is overrated. It's cool to have nice sounding shit but ffs some of the great rap albums were recorded on a jail phone. It's all about the energy behind it. I really appreciate your feedback

[Ott]

It might be fun for everyone in this thread to participate in #jamuary2018 (ugh I just used a hashtag). Just make something music related for every day of January and post it on YouTube (or Instagram). It's best to keep the bar low so the task isn't daunting.

[blah2]

[QUOTE=Instant Mix;52990154]
[b] moi stuff [/b]

some sort of future house / dance song i've been tweaking occasionally over the last couple months, still feels a bit empty and unsure what to add in
[media]https://soundcloud.com/user-941423405/eigenstate[/media][/QUOTE]

This is really cool. Doesn't sound empty at all. If you find it too repetitive, shorten the length of the trackby 2-3 minutes.

[media]http://soundcloud.com/soundhero2/make-your-move[/media]

Liked the loop so decided to do some simple generic stuff with it.

[redBadger]

[QUOTE=Lamarr;53019507]As stated above, Two Minds is very well composed and some impressive playing you're doing.
Hope you're still playing after 11 years cause you obviously have talent.

Got a Vox AC30 Tone pedal from a friend for christmas.
Recorded a cover of Brian May's "Last horizon" using it for lead,rhythm and acoustic tone.
[media]https://soundcloud.com/lamarrmelon/joyo-ac-tone-last-horizon-cover[/media][/QUOTE]

Sounds really good. You have a great guitar sound. Only criticism is that the drums feel a tad weak, just a bit though for my tastes.

[editline]2nd January 2018[/editline]

[media]https://soundcloud.com/redbadger/green-hill-forces-v2[/media]
[media]https://soundcloud.com/redbadger/aquarium-park-2-1[/media]
[media]https://soundcloud.com/redbadger/windmill-isle-v2[/media]
[media]https://soundcloud.com/redbadger/press-garden-v2[/media]

I dunno if this would count for a jamuary thing but I've been working on doing some remixes of some sonic tunes and working out some new drums and synths.

[Garry #2]

[QUOTE=redBadger;53023641]Sounds really good. You have a great guitar sound. Only criticism is that the drums feel a tad weak, just a bit though for my tastes.

[editline]2nd January 2018[/editline]

[media]https://soundcloud.com/redbadger/green-hill-forces-v2[/media]
[media]https://soundcloud.com/redbadger/aquarium-park-2-1[/media]
[media]https://soundcloud.com/redbadger/windmill-isle-v2[/media]
[media]https://soundcloud.com/redbadger/press-garden-v2[/media]

I dunno if this would count for a jamuary thing but I've been working on doing some remixes of some sonic tunes and working out some new drums and synths.[/QUOTE]

Never played sonic, but these sound excellent. Press Garden V2 is freakin jammin man. I love the bass and the piano, very punchy.

Been working on a song for the past couple weeks. Here is the end of it. Will definitely be tweaking it, maybe getting a different piano VST. Need to re-record the bass as well, but my bass is currently not working with my interface. Will add vocals l8tr, and im still debating drums. What do yall think?

[media]https://soundcloud.com/boguckiryan/end-of-winter-instrumental[/media]

[Inzal]

I'm stuck in this trap with production lately where i've been making a lot of like, drops and that kinda thing, tryna hone my mixing skills a bit

but can't seem to build anything around them, feel like i've just run out of ideas creatively and can't make any full songs

used to be the other way around, i'd start a song from a basis idea get stuck in loops, then wouldn't know where i'd wanna go with it

basically haven't made any full length sorta things in over a year now, it's making me feel a bit shitty
how do you guys go about breaking out of these creative dry spells

[buu342]

Well, I'm pretty sure no one cares about this, but I'll post it anyway.

I've recently got into N64 hacking, and I've managed, through a painful and meticulous process, to convert a song from Mystical Ninja 2: Starring Goemon (Goemon's Great Adventure) into a tracker file, with all the original instrument sounds.

[B]Tracker:[/B]
[url]https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QQCq0nGK3fPmdr7eDTdWrGsJuTIEGqzM[/url]

[B]Mp3: [/B]
[media]https://soundcloud.com/user-908722682/the-aloof-soldier[/media]

[B]Ripping process for those interested:[/B]
I used the N64SoundListTool to rip the sounds from the banks, N64MidiTool to rip a midi of the song, and then, through a lot of patience, I replaced all instruments with blank sounds, then with hundreds of copies of the rom, I would replace one instrument at a time with their original sound. Then I would play the rom using BizHawk, where I could get to the part of the game where the song plays (with cheats that force the xyz coordinates of my character, so it wasn't as long of a process as some of you might think it would be), and I would record the song with Audacity, so I'd get a .wav file with the instrument playing. Like this, I could then compare it to the midi file and find which of the randomly assigned instrument corresponded to the instrument in the bank. Then all I had to do was correct the pitch (because they weren't playing at the correct pitch to begin with), create an instrument (for the sustains and such), and eventually I got this finished product that you're listening to.
Tl;dr: kill me.

[Liam]

[QUOTE=Inzal;53027596]I'm stuck in this trap with production lately where i've been making a lot of like, drops and that kinda thing, tryna hone my mixing skills a bit

but can't seem to build anything around them, feel like i've just run out of ideas creatively and can't make any full songs

used to be the other way around, i'd start a song from a basis idea get stuck in loops, then wouldn't know where i'd wanna go with it

basically haven't made any full length sorta things in over a year now, it's making me feel a bit shitty
how do you guys go about breaking out of these creative dry spells[/QUOTE]

Watch a super slow-mo video of a car crashing or something and try and structure your tune to cues from that. Drop something new in when the windows shatter, shit like that.

[Ulriik]

[QUOTE=Inzal;53027596]I'm stuck in this trap with production lately where i've been making a lot of like, drops and that kinda thing, tryna hone my mixing skills a bit

but can't seem to build anything around them, feel like i've just run out of ideas creatively and can't make any full songs

used to be the other way around, i'd start a song from a basis idea get stuck in loops, then wouldn't know where i'd wanna go with it

basically haven't made any full length sorta things in over a year now, it's making me feel a bit shitty
how do you guys go about breaking out of these creative dry spells[/QUOTE]

Exercise, walks, candles, fresh samples, a couple shots jager help me usually. I always seem to think of my best ideas in the shower. Reading scifi helps me sometimes too, or even just looking at creative pictures/art whether they're old/new real or fake. Expose yourself to multiple positive stimuli to help get in that creative zone.

Once you're there, don't feel bad for making one off choruses that you never touch again, because it's good practice. You can always come back to it at a later date with a refreshed perspective, and easier improvements.

[redBadger]

[QUOTE=Garry #2;53026997]Never played sonic, but these sound excellent. Press Garden V2 is freakin jammin man. I love the bass and the piano, very punchy.

Been working on a song for the past couple weeks. Here is the end of it. Will definitely be tweaking it, maybe getting a different piano VST. Need to re-record the bass as well, but my bass is currently not working with my interface. Will add vocals l8tr, and im still debating drums. What do yall think?

[media]https://soundcloud.com/boguckiryan/end-of-winter-instrumental[/media][/QUOTE]

Very good song! Just needs a bit of mixing. I'm overwhelmed with the amount of bass and mids, but wish there were more highs. Also there's a lot of background noise - I don't think it's clipping but it's very noticeable near the end, and around :47 on those piano chords.

[media]https://soundcloud.com/redbadger/random-song-01[/media]

I was fucking around and came up with this. I don't know how I feel about it yet.

[Speedhax]

So I tried out Reaper for the first time. It actually records well unlike Fl studio, which records like a piece of shit. Reaper seemingly has some really dumb features though. For example, if you delete a part of a clip on a track, it automatically fills in the gap. I haven't been able to find a way to turn this off, but it's just the stupidest thing I've seen.

Reaper also had this feature turned on where you couldn't edit single clips, but had to edit everything as a group. I don't know why they thought making the default to on instead of having it off. A lot of it is just not as intuitive as FL Studio, but cool stuff happened because of the struggle.

I actually like my MIDI notes and recordings being accurately recorded though, for some reason FL studio fucks up recordings.

[jaooe]

[QUOTE=buu342;53027807]Well, I'm pretty sure no one cares about this... [/QUOTE]
This is RAD.

[QUOTE=Speedhax;53028884]So I tried out Reaper for the first time. It actually records well unlike Fl studio, which records like a piece of shit. Reaper seemingly has some really dumb features though. For example, if you delete a part of a clip on a track, it automatically fills in the gap. I haven't been able to find a way to turn this off, but it's just the stupidest thing I've seen.

Reaper also had this feature turned on where you couldn't edit single clips, but had to edit everything as a group. I don't know why they thought making the default to on instead of having it off. A lot of it is just not as intuitive as FL Studio, but cool stuff happened because of the struggle.

I actually like my MIDI notes and recordings being accurately recorded though, for some reason FL studio fucks up recordings.[/QUOTE]

Are you using an actual MIDI keyboard or qwerty keyb with FL? I had the same problem, try fucking with the ASIO settings especially buffer settings.

Have you tried Ableton btw?

[QUOTE=redBadger;53028596]
[media]https://soundcloud.com/redbadger/random-song-01[/media]

I was fucking around and came up with this. I don't know how I feel about it yet.[/QUOTE]

Pretty cool, I listened to some of your music above, reminds me of some of the games I used to play on my mega drive.

[media]https://soundcloud.com/jaooe/skill[/media]

Rarely post in here, not sure if anyone here appreciates this kind of stuff, but I made this before.

[editline]6th January 2018[/editline]

[QUOTE=Inzal;53027596]I'm stuck in this trap with production lately where i've been making a lot of like, drops and that kinda thing, tryna hone my mixing skills a bit

but can't seem to build anything around them, feel like i've just run out of ideas creatively and can't make any full songs

used to be the other way around, i'd start a song from a basis idea get stuck in loops, then wouldn't know where i'd wanna go with it

basically haven't made any full length sorta things in over a year now, it's making me feel a bit shitty
how do you guys go about breaking out of these creative dry spells[/QUOTE]

Just keep going man, I used to get this an awful lot... Listen to what you're trying to achieve and try to break it down in your head, if not ask around.

some music theory is a good basis, it's been pretty much 10 years since I studied music at GCSE but think about your music like this if it helps.

I-A-B-C-A-B-C-O

Where;
I = intro
A = A arrangement
B = b arrangement
C = Chorus? Changeup? Whatever
O = Outro

That's just one pattern, and there's many others, and I'm pretty sure you can make up your own, it's music...

Try and understand what's going on and what you want to achieve or sound like... Might be easier to listen to something that sounds like what you want to achieve and see how someone else does it.